


You Can't Change Who You Are (Or Can You?)

by Interstellalover



Category: Finder no Hyouteki | Finder Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Castles, M/M, Mild Gore, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6320998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interstellalover/pseuds/Interstellalover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hello! This is a very new field I am writing in where Akihito is a goat. That's all I can say. I don't want to spoil the story for anyone with a long summary. I will add tags as I go along. I hope you like it!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time, there was a goat born to a faun on the outskirts of the Tatsu Kingdom. The mother of the goat was appalled to have given birth to what seemed to be just a regular farm goat, even though she was half jejune. Yes, it was heard of before where two centaurs had a full horse child or two werewolves giving birth to just a regular wolf. Those children didn't understand language or culture, so they just became ordinaries. She was still disappointed none the less. She would of rather settled for a full jejune, but that could never happen because evolution snuffed out the pure jejune gene long ago. If a child was to be born a jejune, they would most likely be born a stillborn if they even got that far. 

The mother planned to leave her goat son behind on one of the many farms she would pass in her travels to find work. He would be safe and taken care of for the rest of his short goat life. But, she couldn't do it. Maybe it was because of how her son looked at her through eyes of blue orbs instead of black rectangles. Maybe it was how he took on mortal mannerisms, like shrugging, shaking his head, or how it seemed he wanted to answer her as she talked. Whatever it was, the mother couldn't let her only family be left behind. Besides, she soon found out that her son wasn't just an ordinary, he could understand her and communicate through body language. So, she gave her son the name, Akihito, because he was brighter than the average goat.

The faun would often think about this story of her son. But right now, she had to finish cleaning this farmer's stables for a place to sleep and a bit of bread crust. She looked around to find her son, gone, yet again.

Out on the edge of the farm pasture, a lone blonde silver tinged goat sat, and was looking down at his hairy, knobbly legs.

Akihito knew he was born a goat, but he didn't feel like a goat. Yeah, he had the little nubs on the top of his head that would grow into horns, the little peach fuzz on his chin that would grow into a beard, the rounded nubs on the end of his legs that would grow into pointed hooves, and the eye pupils that would grow into lifeless rectangles. But, through all of this, he didn't believe that he was a goat. His mother wasn't a goat. Well, not entirely one. She was a faun, having the upper half of a jejune with horns on her head and the lower half of a goat. Even though he desperately wanted to be like her, his mother told him that he was fine just the way he is, an ordinary. Maybe she felt sorry for him being whatever he was trapped in a goat's body. This concludes that he wasn't an ordinary because he could understand his mother and have advanced feelings, thoughts, and emotions.

He knew his mother loved him. She had so much love to give him because his father left the picture shortly after he was born. He thought maybe it was because his father didn't believe he could spawn a goat. Heck, he didn't even know what he father was because his mother never talked about it. He could have been another satyr, a centaur, a merman, or even a dwarf. There is no telling because there are a lot of creatures in the world, and if you loved someone, it didn't matter what you were. It was a long shot and most inter specie mingling resulted in nonfunctional children, but they could still try. This may be the reason why the creatures of this world tend to either be with someone similar to them or someone with great power.

After some thought of this, Akihito started to scrape the ground with his front hoof and sighed an exasperated breath. He watched the sun sink down below the horizon and wished it to come back tomorrow morning. He lost track of time until he heard his name being called.

"Akihitoooo..." He heard the wind echo. "Akihito, where are you?" The wind asked. Still lost in thought, he lazily turned his head towards the sound and saw his mother walking towards him across the pasture.

The little goat got up from where he was standing and shook his tail to knock off the dirt from his behind. He trotted over to his mother and met her halfway. She didn't look too pleased.

"Akihito, how many times do I have to tell you?" She shook her horned head at him causing some of her brunette hair to be displaced. "Don't go anywhere without letting me know. You could get hurt."

Her son let out a bleat.

"No, I don't want to hear it, come on inside the barn before it gets dark." Her son slumped his shoulders which caused her features to soften. "We have to get a good night's rest if we're going to make it to the castle by tomorrow evening." She softly told him.

Akihito jumped up at this remark and bleated with excitement. It's been months of walking across country to finally arrive at the Shiro Castle where his mother could get a job as a maid and where he could play all day, maybe even make a friend.

The faun smiled at her son's excitement. "Alright, my little jumping goat, get some sleep and early in the morning, we'll start out."

Akihito ran back to the barn with his mother in tow.

Upon arrival, he noticed how clean the barn was. His mother was a hard worker. After a little bit of walking around and looking at the various horses and dairy cows, he found a nice clean plot of hay to settle down for the night.

His mother placed more hay next to him and laid down. She reached over with her hand and patted the blonde hair in between the little nubs on the top of Akihito's head.

Akihito opened his eyes and took in his mother's aged face in the dim light. Her eyes were closed in sleep. He on the other hand, couldn't go to sleep just yet. He was too excited for tomorrow.

When this happened, Akihito would pretend to hold a conversation with his mother, who was usually the only person around. In his mind, he would ask her questions like, how was your day and what are we doing tomorrow. On nights that he was feeling more contemplative, he would ask about his father and what's it like to be able to talk and pick up things with hands. After a few minutes of this and the warmth of his mother's hand still on his head, he soon fell asleep.

 

The next morning, Akihito was gently nudged awake by his mother who always seemed to rise before the sun and before he did. She gave him a bit of crust to eat because she knew he didn't like any type of farm feed. He hungrily ate it and took some slurps of water while his mother packed up the rest of the bread and some milk for later.

After saying their goodbyes and thank yous to the centaurs who owned the farm, the mother and son made their trek through the forest on the dirt path that led to Shiro Castle.

"I really wish you could of waited at the barn while I said goodbye to the centaurs." The faun told her son. "They gave me quite a look when you were standing next to me waving goodbye with your hoof." She looked over to see Akihito put his head down. "I know you wanted to say goodbye. It's just, people may not except you or even start messing with you because you're an ordinary that doesn't act like one."

As he walked, the little goat seemed to have slumped over further. The mother spoke again. "Look, Akihito, we can get away with interacting with each other out here because there is no one around. But, once we get to the castle you can't be acting like a mortal." She could see tears forming around her son's eyes. They continued to walk in silence until they stopped for a midday break.

Akihito refused the crust of bread and milk that was offered during their break.

With a sigh, her mother reached out and gently took her son's face in her hands. "Akihito, you must understand that you are regarded as an ordinary and don't fall under the rules of the mortals. You're twelve years old now and you need to know that you must act like an ordinary to avoid suspicion. If a wizard, a witch, or a sorcerer found out that you age and act like a mortal, they may take you away because it is not illegal to experiment on a goat." A surprise look took over Akihito's face and caused him to try to pull away from her. "I'm only telling you this because I love you and that I'm happy that you're still alive. Do you know that the ordinary goat only lives for about ten years?"

Akihito shook his head 'no'.

"This is why you have to act normal and this is why I am thankful for every day you are with me." She let go of him and resumed the walk to the castle with Akihito sauntering behind her. His mind now filled with even more questions about his being.

To break the silence between them, the faun started to talk about the kingdom. "You know, Akihito, the centaurs told me that there is rumor that the princess will find a suitor soon. Especially since there will be a ball held tonight. Hopefully, they will need some extra help at the castle. I'm sure they will. Then we'll have enough money to be able to get our own little farmhouse. Wouldn't that be nice?" She looked behind her at her son who was still staring at the ground. She gave a little frown and continued the trek in silence.

 

They reached an outside gate of the castle just before the sun went down. The blonde haired goat looked up at the walls that were reaching to the sky and expanding for, what seemed like, miles. He let his mouth fall open in amazement.

"Akihito, close your mouth." His mother's sharp tone met his floppy ears.

Akihito snapped his mouth shut and looked over at his mother who was looking towards the gate that had a guard stationed by it.

"Now when I talk to the guard, don't do anything, just stand there. I'm going to tell him that I'm looking for work and that you are my pet goat. If he senses something suspicious, he won't let us in. Do you understand?" Her son bleated softly. "Okay, follow me."

Akihito followed his mother to an iron, slotted gate that had a strange bull creature, dressed in just a pair of pants, standing near the gate. On closer inspection, he noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt to maybe show off the many battle scars on his strangely jejune-like chest and arms. He didn't know what this mortal was. He looked like a bull that worked out continuously. While staring at this creature that he's never seen before, he accidentally bumped into his mother's legs.

"Akihito!" The faun hissed.

The guard looked over at who was approaching and huffed a breath out of his bull snout. "Stop, what is your business here?" He bellowed out in a deep, guttural voice.

The faun maiden looked up from her son and answered in a somewhat trembling voice. It seemed that she too was taken aback by the bull mortal. "I am Takaba Jun Faun and I am looking for work as a castle hand." She said as proudly as she could.

The mortal looked her over in her threadbare vest and long skirt, then looked behind her at the shaking blonde haired goat. He nodded then looked back at the faun. "Nice to meet you. I am Suoh Kazumi Minotaur. We are looking for castle maids, but you must leave your ordinary in the goat pen."

Akihito made a distressed bleating noise.

"Hush now", she said to the goat. "I'm sorry Suoh-san. My pet goat has walked far with me and is tired."

Suoh nodded his understanding. He then turned around, unlocked a chain around a massive lever, then pulled it causing the gate to rise. "You may enter. Leave your goat with the others then report to Yuzuki Faun in the servant's quarters near the stables. She is the headmaster of the maids."

"Thank you Suoh-san." She bowed low.

The mother and son team walked through the gate and made it into a courtyard with a few mortals working in the gardens in the courtyard.

Akihito looked at the female jejune mortals and couldn't believe his eyes. His mother told him that they died out eons ago. But, on further inspection, these mortals were caressing flowers or leafs that caused them to change color and shape. When doing this, parts of the mortal's skin glowed and their veins under their skin turned greenish.

"Nature nymphs." His mother whispered to her son.

Akihito couldn't stop gawking at the magic that those mortals posses. He stopped following his mother and walked over to a nymph that was kneeling on the ground next to a bush that contained blue flowers. She had flowing auburn hair with flowers in it and a magical aura around her. He quietly stood next to the nature nymph and watched as she electrified the air around a flower causing it to close.

The nymph leaned back on her hands. "A good days work finally done." She sighed. She turned her head in the direction where Akihito was. "Why, hello little goat."

Akihito skittered back and fell on his behind surprised that she knew he was there. 

"Oh, don't be frightened. Here," She picked one of the closed blue flowers. "They are not poisonous when they are closed and are quite tasty." She held out the flower to the goat.

The blonde haired goat tiptoed forward towards her hand that had glowing green veins running through it, that was making the flower glow. Akihito opened his mouth to take the flower. The nymph brought the flower closer to his mouth encouragingly.

"Akihito!" A shrill voice rang out.

The little goat skittered backward and bumped into his mother's legs. He looked up to see her fuming. He could have sworn he saw steam rising off of her spiraled horns.

The nymph quickly stood up and regarded the enraged faun. "Oh, I'm sorry fair faun. I didn't know this was your ordinary." She held out the blue flower. "I only wanted to give him a gift for keeping me company."

Akihito looked up at his mother expectantly and was disappointed in her answer.

"I thank you for your offer fair nymph. However, I must respectfully refuse. We've already eaten." The faun respectfully bowed. "Come on, Akihito."

The nymph looked down at the goat who was looking back and forth between his mother and herself. She smiled at realizing that this was no average ordinary. Her special talents with nature and ordinaries allowed her to sense his advanced thoughts. _"_ _Come back and visit me, anytime."_ She said without moving her mouth.

Akihito jumped up at hearing her voice in his head and bleated in response.

"Enough, Akihito!" The faun stamped her left hoof. "Let's go."

_"See you later, Akihito-chan,"_ she echoed in the little goat's mind while he trailed after the faun.

Akihito bleated again then raced after his mother who was walking towards the goat pen.

When the little goat arrived at the somewhat smelly pen, he looked over at his mother with displeasure written across his face. "I know it's not ideal, but it'll have to do for now." She said.

The faun gently lifted her son over the fence of the pen and set him on the other side. She then looked around to make sure no one was looking or in ear shot. She knelt down to her son. "Okay, Akihito. Listen up." His ears stood on end and pointed in her direction. "Rule number one, act as an ordinary. Rule number two, stay in the goat pen unless I come get you. Rule number three, please, please, please don't reveal yourself towards anyone. I'll visit you later on tonight." She petted the top of her son's head through the wood log fence before leaving him in his unhappy state of mind.

Akihito watched his mother walk towards the back door of the castle where the servants quarters were. He turned around to regard his new friends and was met with the stare of a goat munching on some grass. He tilted his head while the other goat continued to stare with his lifeless eyes.

By this time, the sun was going down below the wall and there were some satyrs and centaurs going around doing their evening chores.

Akihito watched them and became jealous of how they held casual conversations and could pick up things with ease. He made an audible sigh that caused air to be pushed between his lips to make a raspberry sound.

"Haha, never heard a goat make that noise before." A male's voice met his ears.

Akihito looked to the mortal who said that comment to see a young satyr straitening one of the fence posts. He made the raspberry sound again which caused the dark brunette satyr to laugh again.

"You're a funny goat." He stopped what he was doing and leaned himself over the fence towards the goat. "Do you want a sugar cube, little goat?" The satyr dug into his pocket and pulled out a small sugar cube. He held it out to the blonde goat.

Akihito regarded the foreign item with a wary eye. This was the closest he has ever gotten to another mortal. Somewhat exciting, mostly scary, he then regretted not learning how to act as an ordinary and just take the food like object.

The satyr got a closer look at the goat and noticed his eyes. "I've never seen a goat with round eyes." He commented.

Akihito skittered back at that remark because he had just broken the 'don't reveal yourself to anyone' rule. He trotted away from the satyr who's sugar cube was now being consumed by a different goat. He made his way towards a nice quiet corner under an awning that provided shade during the day. He waited there until he watched the disappointed looking satyr leave the now fixed fence and go onto the next chore.

Akihito felt his heart hurt. He didn't really know why he felt this way. Maybe it was how the satyr looked after he rejected his present. A lone tear slipped down his cheek at the missed opportunity of making a friend. He wanted to talk to this satyr who was so nice to him. He wanted to use hands to open the gate of the pen and walk on two legs to the satyr and except the offered gift. He desperately wanted to have a voice in this world. Just a couple of words could have changed the whole situation for the better.

The little goat stomped his hooves on the ground in anger. Why was he born this way?

Akihito thought that maybe it was the light of the sun that had him trapped in this body, like the werewolves. His mother always had him inside before dark, so he never really got a chance to find out. Realization hit him when this was the first night that he would not be by his mother's side. This was also the first chance to see if his theory is right about the moon revealing his true identity. Deep within himself, he felt that this night would change his life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

The prince left the confines of the ballroom as quickly as he could. He removed his white gloves and threw them away. He met every ambassador, every duchess, every important person in the whole goddamn entire kingdom and then some. He didn't want to shake another gloved hand, he didn't want to take another spoiled frilly dressed girl out on the dance floor, he didn't even want to partake in any of the food and drink delicacies that were laid out. He just wanted to get away, to escape. The only reason why he was even there was because he was the prince. He was apart of the royal family and is one of the few pure shapeshifters left in the entire kingdom. Pureness and power, traits that the people of all kingdoms look for and hold on to.

He didn't really care about the extravagant party anyway. It wasn't like he was going to inherit the kingdom. His older sister would, well when she found a suitable and powerful man that can put up with her siren calls. After the queen's death and the health of the king becoming worse, a new power couple had to be put on the thrown.

The queen to be was a winged nymph that was taught in the art of seduction to become part siren in order to attract a capable suitor for her kingdom. Her wings, a trait inherited by her father, a shapeshifter, and her ability to manipulate weather, a gift from the late queen, who was a nymph, were very high sought after traits. The bad part is, she was born with a heart of stone, so she could never truly feel the excitement of love. She would become the perfect queen.

The sharply dressed teenage prince exited the ballroom through the tall glass doors and made his way across the court yard that held the past queen's most prized blue roses. The roses would be in full bloom year around in honor of her. The late queen, who was the kingdom's official nymph of nature, wouldn't have it any other way.

The prince barely knew his father. He rarely spent time with him because all his time was spent either honing his shapeshifting skills or learning more about the kingdom. When he was younger, the few encounters with his parents when his mother was alive, were when they were scolding him about using his abilities for pranks or leaving the castle grounds without them knowing. So, he didn't feel much remorse for his mother's death because he never had a relationship with her.

His father, due to the sudden death of the queen, was now becoming quite ill over it. It is said that if a mortal truly loves another mortal, then their souls and hearts are bonded across time and space, and where one goes, the other goes too. The weird thing concerning this little tidbit, was that the prince knew that his father never loved his mother.

The prince chuckled to himself at thinking that maybe the king was sick over his daughter constantly nagging him to throw her a ball for every insignificant little accomplishment.

The teenager looked up from his thoughts as he heard someone coming in his direction. He spotted a couple of the castle's minotaur guards walking towards him and he quickly ducked behind a nearby tree. He wasn't supposed to leave the premises of the ballroom until he was officially excused.

He watched the minotaurs pass by all dressed to the nines with the coat of arms of a dragon killing a chimera embedded on the chest of their steel clad armor. A gold ring hung from each of the minotaur's noses. Their gold ring signifying wealth among the minotaurs shone in the moonlight.

Although the prince's muscular large frame was hard to hide, it was night so they didn't see him in his dark suit. Sure, he could of changed into a small creature to evade the guards, but he was forbidden to use his powers for selfish reasons. The real reason was he didn't want to leave his suit in the dirt. He didn't care if he did things that were forbidden.

After evading his own guards, he made his way to his favorite spot by a little pond near the stables and the pens. He liked sitting there by the pond under the trees listening to the occasional sounds of the ordinaries. Sometimes he would come and relax early in the morning before he had to take dance lessons, language lessons, or cultural lessons. Sometimes he would come very late at night to just watch the moon dance across the pond and maybe catch a glimpse of a sprite rustling the leaves of trees.

He made his way over to a nice patch of soft grass under his favorite tree and took a seat. He leaned his head up against the rough bark and looked up at the leaves that were being softly caressed by the wind. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander away.

It was not long after he let his mind escape that he started to think about the mystery of his being. It didn't make any sense that he got none of his late mother's powers or how he managed to be a pure shapeshifter. For this to happen, both of his parents, not only his father, would have to have been pure shapeshifters. After some thought, he just chucked it up to a mutation anomaly. He then thought about today's shapeshifting lesson and about how his tutor wanted him to turn himself into a demeaning little mouse. "You must experience all creatures." The tutor had droned. He scoffed at that remark and then proceeded to turn himself into a lion and roared at his instructor. He was sentenced to two hours of reading about forest mice in the library.

He would have rather been sentenced to two hours of archery, or sword practice, or even to two hours of punching a bale of hay. Then, he could actually be learning something. He didn't really like using his morphing abilities. He thought of this trait as an unnecessary gene that would only cause him to be corrupt. So, he used it very rarely.

The prince was enjoying the silence of the night until he heard a sort of a soft splashing sound. He opened his eyes slightly and looked across the pond to the other side. For a minute, he didn't believe his eyes because he couldn't quite comprehend what he was looking at. It looked like a silver ghost was touching the water of his pond. Illuminated by the moonlight, one could easily make this mistake. He changed his eyesight to that of a feline. Something that he recently learned in class, being a shapeshifter, you didn't have to morph your whole body into the specific animal to utilize their advantages. True, it took a lot more concentration and was more tiring, but he had faith in himself.

The shapeshifter's now glowing eyes caught the scene of a little goat that wasn't a ghost at all. It seemed like it was looking for something in the pond. Did he loose something in the pond? Wait a second. Something is not right here. The prince didn't know what the goat's strange activities were attributed to, so he just settled himself against the tree and continued watching the strange seen.

The prince has never seen a silver tinged blonde goat before. Usually, goats where a combination of matte colors or had one dull color, but this color was somewhat unusual. The prince watched the goat look at itself, contemplating itself, and looking like it was lost. He watched the ordinary daintily dip part of one hoof into the water and bob its head up and down at the ripples that were started. The princes' glowing eyes caught onto the ripples as well and didn't notice the stare he was getting from the goat. It wasn't until he heard the stomping of hooves in front of him that he decided to look up.


	3. Chapter 3

Akihito was having a little fun with the waves and how they danced on the water, but it wasn't changing the image he was seeing of himself. His theory of how the moon can change himself into his true form had failed. Now, he was just distorting his reflection in the water.

He realized that he has broken most of his mother's rules that were ever set in place, but she didn't have the discomfort of being an ordinary goat.

Akihito couldn't stand being with the other goats in the pen that rudely bumped into him. He couldn't stand the way that they slurped at the water and let their drool drip into the water.

Aside from wanting to see his reflection, the pond provided him with clean water to drink from, drool free.

At the last ripple that he created with a splash of his hoof, he slowly rose his face to the other end of the pond and caught a glimpse of a weirdly shaped tree trunk. He tilted his head to try to get the hair out of his eyes and to make out the weird shape under the tree. After a few seconds, he huffed his frustration and got up on his knobby legs and started walking over to the strange tree trunk. His eyes didn't help him much at night. He wasn't even supposed to be out here. He was supposed to be waiting for his mother at the goat pens. But because his mother was catering to the upperclassman at the ball until very late at night, he snuck out.

The blonde haired goat made it around the pond near the strange shadow under the tree. It was not until he almost got to where the strange shadow resided when he saw the glowing predator like eyes sharply look up. He got frightened at the sudden movement and stepped back swiftly. As he stepped back, his shaky legs tripped over a couple of rocks and he almost landed in the pond. If it was not for a hand that reached out and gently grabbed him under the stomach and pulled him back on shore, he would certainly have been soaked.

Akihito was held against a strong broad chest, against the softest material he had ever felt on himself. He still couldn't see anything. It didn't help that the moon became hidden behind some dark clouds. However, when he looked up at to whom was holding him so tightly and so securely, he saw golden eyes shining like the sun. That was all he could see in the dark.

The blonde goat was surprised that he felt hands tightly wrapped around his body and he could feel the outline of a jejune like mortal. He shifted in the mortal's lap to try to see what exactly this creature was.

The goat started to shiver in the cool breeze. He felt a warm hand brush some blonde hair away from his eyes to reveal his strikingly baby blue eyes that electrified his black irises. He wanted to get this creature's attention and started to move his mouth in the way that one moves their mouth to speak. He made light gruff sounds that sort of resembled a mortal lightly coughing.

"What are you trying to tell me, little goat?" A low baritone voice met his ears. The mortal continued to stroke his head.

Akihito continued making gruff incoherent noises and bleats.

"Are you trying to ask me why I am out here?" The mortal answered with a question.

More coughing noises followed by a nod. He settled himself down into the creature's comfortable lap, happy that he got his thoughts across. He held this mortal's  yellow gaze as the outline of his face slowly made it into his view.

Akihito jaw dropped slightly as he took in the most handsomest mortal he has ever seen. This creature's hair was a midnight black. He could make out the strong jawline and the neck that was set atop wide shoulders. His eyes, still glowing in the dark, seemed as soft and contemplative as he blue eyes were. He waited for that smooth, deep voice to meet his ears once more.

The mortal kept patting the ordinarie's head as he spoke. "Well, little goat, I'm kind of ditching the over embellished ball. It's not even my ball. It's for my sister to find a suitor." He continued talking about the ball and the people attending and about the garish way people were behaving. He started to scratch behind one of the goat's ears. "I wish you could tell me why you're here. Maybe you're escaping something as well."

Akihito took in the confused look crossing this mortal's face and wondered if he was thinking why there was a goat out here in the middle of the night and why he was talking to it. He now knew that there was no turning back. His theory about tonight sort of came true. He had revealed his true self in the moonlight to this mortal. His mother would be so angry if she found out. But, rules be damned, he was making a friend.

Akihito laid his head across the jejune like creature's right knee and let out a sigh. He sensed that this man only wanted to have some time and just enjoy the night. He didn't seem the type to experiment on advanced thinking goats.

The silence stretched on between the two until it was broken by the finely dressed mortal. "Do you want to hear a story?"

Akihito perked up at this question and anticipated the 'conversation' he would be having with him.

"Alright. How about the story of the jejunes?"

Akihito nodded enthusiastically, excited that he would hear another version of this story other than the short "jejunes died off" story his mother told him once.

"A long, long time ago, there was a species called the jejunes. These creatures were said to have given rise to most of the mortals in the world. The thing is, they didn't have any special power, they weren't born with magic, but were completely pure blood. This was how they were able to manipulate themselves into the many mortals that are now in this world. A few lucky jejunes were able to absorb some of the magic that is present in the world. These jejunes are referred to as nymphs, wizards, witches, guardians, any mortal who has abilities outside of being physical. Every mortal has a trace of the jejune gene. In some, the gene is more prominent than others. Do you know about the immortals?" He asked the goat in his lap.

The blonde goat shook his head 'no'.

"Well, the immortals were pure blood mortals that were extremely powerful and had the tendency to live for a very long time. Like the dragons, unicorns, loch nesses, and some magical born beings. The jejunes used to live among these creatures in peace, however, they soon became jealous of all of the special gifts and talents that these immortals posses. You see, the jejunes couldn't fly, didn't have magical powers at the time, and weren't overly strong. You could say that these creatures were advanced thinking ordinaries. Since they could communicate extensively, have deep emotions, and have feelings that regular ordinaries could not."

The goat's head perked up at this last response. He tried to ask if that is what he is going through right now, but he couldn't form the right words. Or any word for that matter.

The reclined man looked down at the ordinary in his lap when it made some feeble noises and decided to play along. "Sort of. They were once described as mortals trapped in ordinary bodies. Of course, these creatures were pure blood animals, like you, little goat. They just had terrible disadvantages in the world."

Akihito frowned at that statement. This mortal must have figured out by now that he wasn't talking to just an ordinary. But, he let him continue.

"One day, after years of their numbers dwindling due to unsuccessful matings with magical beings and immortals, and their own kind already weak, they decided to start experimenting in a not so moral way. Also, the immortals started to begin to not want anything to do with the jejunes. They were afraid that these creatures were too greedy for power and wealth. Have you heard of shapeshifters?" He looked down at the goat who shook his head 'no'.

Akihito, even though he didn't know what exactly this mortal was talking about, was still very happy that he was having a conversation with someone other than his mother.

"Well, the jejunes couldn't change themselves into different ordinaries and keep their consciousness like shapeshifters could. These beings are sort of a grey area with regarding them as mortals or immortals. None the less, the shapeshifters at that time didn't want to have anything to do with the jejunes and went into hiding with the immortals. Even though creatures back then were immensely more powerful than now, they were still docile creatures.

"With the idea of shapeshifting in mind, the jejunes would try and become a stronger race, but they didn't have any special abilities and weren't strong enough in order to control those entities. What they did instead, was they started to take the ordinarie's advantages and get a hold of magical beings with these new powers. In order to do this they had to-"

Akihito looked up at the sudden stop in the conversation.

The jejune like creature had stopped petting his head and was now holding him a bit protectively. Akihito didn't really know why until he saw someone walking over to the goat pens.

"Akihito?" A faun whispered at the goat pens.

Akihito took in a sharp breath as he realized how late it was and that it was his mother at the goat pen. He looked up at the male mortal who was holding him and started to squirm away from him and pushed on his chest with his little hooves to get away. He succeeded in jumping out of his lap and ran towards his mother. 

"Akihiko! Where have you been!?" An angry fawn was pacing back and forth in front of the pens and noticed quickly that her son was outside the pens.

The little goat was jumping around ignoring his mother's anger. He was too excited at making his first friend in the castle, not even remembering that he broke all of his mother's rules. He turned around to regard his new friend under the tree, yet he was only met with darkness. At seeing this, his ears dropped and his expression became sad. He turned back to his mother who looked like she was about to overheat.

"Do you have no regard for your safety?!" She harshly hissed. "What were you doing, Akihito? Where were you?!" Her voice raised in anger as her son took on a pouting face and he tried to bleat his answer. "If you can't understand my rules, then maybe I was wrong all along and you are just an ordinary."

Akihito face fell silent and still as his mother slowly put a hand up to her mouth. The trees stopped rustling, the ordinaries stopped moving in their stalls and pens, the various night owls stopped hooing, the kingdom stood still.

It wasn't until fireworks started going off into the sky that the faun and goat were snapped out of their staring contest.

The faun shook her head in disbelief. "Akihito, I'm, I'm so sorry."

Akihito slowly shook his head in disbelief and sauntered away from his mother. With fireworks still going off in the background lighting up the castle grounds, the goat squeezed through the fence posts and turned around to regard his mother.

His mother was tearing up while she was pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. "I'm so sorry." She repeated.

Akihito watched as his mother pulled out some bread and left it just outside the pen for him. "I'm sorry." He heard her again. She got up from her kneeled position on the ground and brushed off the dirt from her floor length skirt. She then turned around and headed back to the castle.

The little goat sat there in the filth of the goat pen. He slowly walked over to the offered food on the other side of the fence. He looked at the food then over to a little pile of hay. His mother's words on replay in his mind. "You are just an ordinary."

Akihito walked over to the somewhat soggy hay and took his first bite. It wasn't that bad, a bit dry, but some rank water would take care of that. He was an ordinary after all. He had to live like an ordinary. His mother was just prolonging his descent into madness.

After a few more swallows of the hay, Akihito, the bright goat, began to feel his mind slowly dull into darkness as the last fireworks of the night slowly faded into their own darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

The prince was upset at loosing the goat's contact. He was even more upset that the creature seemed to be getting a scolding from the faun that was calling him. He could still remember the name she was calling. 'Akihito.' Meaning, bright. Fitting for a goat that could make facial expressions, escape from its own pen, and listen. Quite an unusual name for an ordinary.

He watched the goat run up on the faun that seemed to be angry with him. The faun was hissing at the goat and he didn't like that one bit. He had thought about going over there and seeing what it was all about, but quickly changed his mind. He wasn't supposed to be out here anyway.

The prince didn't really know why he felt some sort of connection with that particular ordinary. Maybe it was because he was practicing to become the different creatures with his shapeshifting abilities. Whatever it was, it was refreshing to speak with something that was not scolding him or telling him what to do. Even if the little goat couldn't answer him back with words. There was something different about that goat.

Before the faun could find out that he was there, he silently got away from the farm animal quarters and made it back to the courtyard of roses. As he was passing the many rose bushes, loud cracks of explosives started to go off over the castle. He looked up to see colorful fireworks lighting up the night sky.

"Some poor guy is marrying the siren." The prince remarked. He waited until the last firework died out before he started walking again.

He made it to the glass doors where a huge stone gargoyle was now standing in his way. He stiffened his posture at the thing that was blocking his entrance.

"Asami-sama." The statue started to speak. His voice sounded deep and gargled. Roughly like two stones being rubbed together. "You were not excused from the party. You missed the announcement of the new suitor for the princess."

Asami's lips went up into a smile. "You know, Kirishima, you're really talkative for being a statue."

His ever faithful servant broke away from his fixed position and looked over the prince. Some color was coming back to his features and his clothes as he stepped out of the way of the door. "Your presence is requested by the king." Kirishima said.

"Did anyone notice I was missing?" Asami asked.

"Mari-san did." He answered.

The prince scoffed. "That huldra? When will she figure out that I'm not interested in her?" 

Kirishima said nothing to that question and instead repeated, "The king requests your presence."

Asami could not suppress a chuckle. "You know Kirishima, you're powerful enough to not take orders from the king."

It was Kirishima's turn to grin. "What makes you think I'm taking orders?"

The prince and his servant entered the lavishly decorated ballroom with minotaur guards stationed neatly around the edges of the circular ballroom floor and satyr and centaur caterers handing out delicacies and drinks to the guests. He looked around at the dancers who were still in their drunken induced embraces.

The ball was starting to die down with the guests retreating to their private quarters. The princess and new suitor were sitting in a couple of seats on the right side of the king's thrown. On the left side of the king, there was the empty thrown of the queen. There was no chair present for the prince.

Before the guests formally retired to their rooms, they were going up to the new couple and either giving their blessings or giving them special gifts. A forest guardian nymph gave them a red flower that will never wilt. One minotaur lord from the labyrinth gave them a puzzle cube that would help with answering questions. A selkie from the north sea gave them a music box that contained music of the selkies, mermaids, and the sirens.

Asami watched this gift giving go on for quite some time before barging in front of a satyr who was holding out a hand carved flute. "Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but the king needed to see me."

The king, in all of his wrinkled glory leaned up from his slumped position on his thrown. The only thing that showed that he was not a full jejune was a pair of spiraled horns that adorned his head and held his crown in place. He looked through tired eyes and regarded his only son. "Asami, I've called for you half an hour ago. Where were you?"

"I was taking a break from the ball."

The old king slowly stood up with the help of a couple of fauns and looked down from his thrown platform. "You were not here to give your gift to the new couple."

Asami huffed. "Your majesty,"

"Father, Asami. You regard me as your father." He crossed his arms that were draped in his gold trimmed dark suit.

"Alright, father. You threw this ball to facilitate your daughter in finding a powerful heir to your thrown. It was no guarantee that she would find a suitable mate. Even if she did, everyone would have to go out and pick out the gifts they wanted to bring for the 'happy' couple. It's almost like this whole thing was planned and the illusion of my sister finding her one at this elaborate set up was just that, an illusion. Thus, not bringing the gift that you picked out for me to give to the engaged is the truest activity that was done tonight. So, since you have the siren's life all planned out before you pass into the sky, what life do you have for me planned out...father?" He finished with a sneer.

The whole ballroom took on a shocked expression as they witnessed the prince basically tell the king he was full of it.

The king licked his now dry lips before choosing his next words carefully to diffuse the situation. "I will not take this incompetence, Asami. You will congratulate the new couple, offer your gift, then return to your private quarters."

Asami stood still in front of the king and the king and queen to be. 

The remaining guests were being ushered out of the ballroom leaving only the royal family and a few of the guards and servants in the room.

Asami's sister got fed up with her brother's disobedience and spoke up. "No use, father. He was always jealous of my powers and the inheritance to the thrown." She swished her long black hair over her shoulders.

The prince looked over at the winged nymph. "Why would I be jealous of a bossy, spoiled, girl?"

The nymph repositioned her black feathered wings behind her back and scoffed. "You were always jealous of my abilities. I can control the weather, I can fly, and I can persuade anyone to do anything for me. All you can do is loose your temper and turn into an angry ordinary." She crossed her arms.

Asami looked over at his sister with an expressionless mask on. "If you are so powerful, then make me give you 'my' gift." He taunted.

The princess uncrossed her arms and rested them on her mahogany wood carved thrown. She narrowed her dark brown eyes. "Asami, give me your gift."

The prince didn't move an inch.

The nymph stepped down from her seat and the thrown platform. "Give me your present." She said in a silky light voice.

Again, the prince did not move.

At this point, rain started to fall outside the castle as the nymph began to become angry at her failure to make her brother do a simple task. "Asami," she said through clenched teeth. "Bring me your gift." A clap of thunder sounded outside of the castle.

The king just sat down on his thrown and watched his children. He had to let this be a lesson for the both of them. For the queen to be, she had to learn how to deal with incompetence and deal with situations like these. For the son, who was to slowly recede into the background, he must learn how to be obedient.

The prince stood still, emotionless, unmoving.

"Asami!" The nymph yelled. "Give...me...your...gift!" She said, abandoning her original siren like voice for a more authoritative one.

After a few seconds of standing there, the black haired prince spoke. "Amazing. For all of your gifts and abilities, you could not make me, a powerless mortal, do anything." He snide.

With a screech, the nymph extended her wings and jumped up into the air. Lightning lit up the room as she dove for her brother.

Asami quickly skipped out of the way and watched as his sister hit the marble floor with a thud.

The princess came up from the floor with a bleeding lip. She touched her lip and brought it up to her eyes to see the blood. She then growled. "You will obey me!" She jumped up into the air once more to grab at the prince. Again, he stealthy moved out of the way to watch her stumble to the ground. She quickly regained her footing and came eye to eye with her brother who still had a cool complex on.

In the deepest voice he could muster, Asami spoke. "You, using all of your powers, abilities, and gifts, could not take down or even intimidate one who has used none of his abilities. Who is more powerful?" He asked.

With a murderous glare, the nymph raised her hand that was now glowing and crackling with electricity.

"Enough!" The raspy voice of the king filled the room.

The princess looked over at her father who had a disgruntled look on his face then at her fiancé who had an eerily emotionless face. She let her control over the weather cease and returned the original calm night sky.

The king sat up on his thrown, his crown adorned with priceless gems glistened in the candle lit chandelier of the ballroom. He looked at his daughter. "You, being the future queen, must learn to control situations without the use of your powers and learn how to deal with such compromises." He then regarded his son. "You will have to learn to be obedient. Your behavior was a disgrace tonight. Leave my presence." He said with a wave of his jeweled hand.

Asami left the ballroom with Kirishima right behind him. The servants and guards bowed their heads as they walked by.

They continued their walk down a long hallway to the prince's personal chambers. "Well, that could have gone better." Asami spoke up.

"Yes it could have, my liege." Kirishima answered.

Asami stopped in his tracks and looked at his glasses wearing servant. "Did I miss something? I am not your 'liege', Kirishima."

Kirishima looked down at the prince who was shorter than him. Something that he knew he couldn't do for long. "May I speak freely, Asami-sama?"

"In my private quarters." He answered.

They arrived at the prince's private chambers and entered the sitting room with a crackling fire already made in the fireplace. Asami took a seat in a leather chair while Kirishima took a seat on a leather couch across from him.

The servant crossed his legs causing the sound of two rocks being rubbed together. He started to speak. "I have watched over you since you were a child." He started.

Asami waved his hand for him to continue.

"I have seen many things go on in this kingdom. Although I am forbidden, as a gargoyle, to reveal the secrets of the past, what I can say, is that you've shown great control, bravery, and cunning tonight in the ballroom. Your sister showed reckless power, obsession, and greed. I fear the end of the Asami's rule of the Tatsu Kingdom. Through my years of watching this royal family through the generations, I can see the signs of a ruler destined to make their kingdom fall. Likewise, I've seen the signs of a ruler that can make the kingdom great. This is what I see in you, Asami-sama."

Asami sat back in the chair, contemplating what Kirishima just said. It was far to soon for him to be anything more than an unknown prince, even if he wanted to. "I am too young and still have a lot to learn, Kirishima. Tonight, I have come to terms with receding into the background because I've only caused disruption. I hope you will still be my faithful servant with this choice."

"When a great leader is needed, one will rise. I will forever be your faithful servant, Asami-sama. May I be excused?" The prince nodded. Kirishima got up from his seat and bowed. He left the prince with his thoughts.

Asami watched the crackling fire and the moon, that was shining through his window, slowly make its way across his carpeted floor. He had a lot of things to think about. But, the more he thought about everything that has happened, the more his thoughts went to the little goat with blonde hair and blue eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Akihito barely registered that it was morning. All that was coming to his mind was the hay that he wanted to eat and the rank water that he wanted to drink. The sudden down pour last night made his once beautiful shiny hair, matted and colorless. He didn't care. He didn't care about much anymore after last night.

There were a few satyrs and centaurs going around and completing their various morning chores when the blonde goat noticed the same satyr that offered him the sugar cube come up to the goat pen. Akihito met his eyes and had a brief moment of thought, then it was quickly gone. When did he become this distant from his thoughts? Ever since last night. What happened last night? He couldn't remember, nor did he really care.

He stood there and munched on some tasteless, stale hay until he got thirsty. He lazily walked over to the watering trough and looked down to take a sip. He stopped midway at his reflection.

The goat looked at himself in his dirty, unkempt state. He had stood out in the rain last night, not caring that he got soaking wet and that his once beautiful silver blonde hair was now dull and lifeless. There was some hay and dirt sticking to his once clean chin. His eyes were not a pretty blue. They were a dull brown, almost blackish color. He had noticed that this morning, he couldn't really see any color anymore. He didn't really care.

Akihito stood there and looked at himself for quite some time until he felt someone put a hand on his head. He skittered back, frightened, not from being ashamed that someone touched him in his revolting self, but at the sudden pressure on his head.

He looked up and saw a sharply dressed man with black hair that was neatly framing his features. He had gold eyes that seemed familiar to him. He didn't know why this mortal looked so familiar to him. At this point, he didn't really care. He thought to himself, 'I am an ordinary and I do not care.' He was sauntering away from the jejune like person on the other side of the fence when he stopped in his tracks when he heard the man speak.

"What happened to you, little goat?" The low, baritone voice of the mortal asked. "You were so beautiful last night."

Akihito turned around and saw the black haired mortal pull out a handkerchief. He unwrapped it to expose a shiny red apple and a couple of sugar cubes.

"Come on, little blonde goat." The mortal shook the food, enticing the ordinary. On closer inspection, he noticed that the goat's eyes were of a dull brown and not a bright blue. But, as he inched forward to his hand, he saw color go back into his eyes.

Akihito didn't know what was happening. At first, he was just going to take the food. But, his sight started to change. He could see lively color of the red apple, he could feel a light breeze, his thoughts were returning to him with every step he took towards the mortal. He didn't know why or how, but all he knew was he needed to be closer to this being.

When the blonde goat arrived at the hand that was through the fence, he looked up into the eyes of the creature. His eyes seemed to be glowing.

It felt like a ton of bricks hit Akihito. More like, a ton of memories came flowing back to him. He wasn't an ordinary goat! He was a feeling, thinking, emotional, bright goat!

He remembered who this male mortal was. He was the gentle being from last night. He had stayed up with him until his mother called for him late at night. His mother, he remembered. She said a hurtful thing to him to have caused this feeling of not caring to waft over him. It wasn't her fault. Akihito now had the urge to go and find her and tell her that everything will be okay. But, he still didn't have the voice box or the means to do it.

"There's that little energetic Akihito." He heard the suited mortal say.

Akihito looked up at hearing his name fall from those lips. He let out a bleat to ask him how he knew his name.

"I heard the faun last night calling for you. She seemed upset. I hope everything is okay." He answered.

The goat let his jaw drop at how this mortal understood him so well. Hopefully, he can keep this up before this pretty creature realizes that he is talking to a goat. His fears came forth at the thought of this beautiful jejune like mortal realizing that he is holding a conversation with a dirty, stinky goat. Although, all those fears went away at the jejune creature's next line.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. You can eat the apple and sugar cubes after your bath." He said this while pocketing the treats and leaning over to pick up the goat. "I didn't mention it last night, but my name is Asami."

Akihito tried to say the mortal's name but it only came out in a huffed breath. He was so excited that he was making a friend. He was also very exited that he was getting out of this muddy goat pen. He jumped on his hind legs and reached out his front legs to except Asami's extended arms.

"Excuse me, Prince Asami-sama." The satyr from before ran up and ruined the magical moment.

Asami picked up the delighted goat and turned to the interruption. "Yes, my good satyr." He said while holding the not so clean goat against his tailored, black vest.

"If you'll excuse my intrusion, I was just going to offer my assistance to what you are doing." The satyr timidly said.

"May I ask your name?" The prince said.

The satyr took a step back and bowed. "I'm Kou Satyr." He answered.

"Well, Kou-san, I have everything under control here. However, since you would like to give your assistance to me, make sure that nobody disturbs me."

"Yes, Prince Asami-sama." He bowed once more and scampered off.

The prince looked down at the goat who had an awestruck gleam in his eyes. Prince? He was the prince? What is he doing out here holding a dirty goat against his clean clothed chest?

"Come on, I want to see your silvery blonde coat shine once more."

The strange couple made it over to a well that had a bucket on a string over it. The goat watched with his mouth open as the prince stripped his vest off of him, leaving him in just a white shirt that was frilled at the collar and sleeves. He then pulled the shirt over his head to reveal a chiseled chest and abs that you could bounce a five pence coin off of. He then removed his black boots and white socks, then his black pants leaving only tight tan pants on that had a very noticeable bump.

Akihito sat on the ground with his tongue out. He couldn't believe his eyes. This was a jejune, clear as day. But, that couldn't be. What other creature had the jejune anatomical parts from head to toe? His thoughts soon ceased as the mortal walked towards him. He skittered back at being this close to this magnificent creature.

Asami laughed. "What? It was a hot day and these palace tailors make me wear too much heavy clothing. Come on." He picked up the pliant goat and brought him near the well. He set him down on the ground and retrieved a bucket of water. He then doused the dirty goat with the clean refreshing water.

Akihito jumped up as the cool water hit him and started to jump around, effectively splashing water on the prince.

"Hey! You're splashing me!" Asami chuckled.

Akihito bleated happily and jumped up again. The water was permeating through the grime of the mud he slept on last night. It was making his hair clean and shiny once more. His silvery blonde hair was now shining in the sun. He wanted to thank this mortal so bad, but knew that he couldn't use words.

After a few more buckets of water, Asami leaned back to look at the goat. "All right, little goat. Your bath is done."

Akihito watched in disbelief as the prince picked up his clean white shirt and used it as a towel to dry him off. His hair became fluffy and soft to the touch. He watched in amazement as the prince then used the shirt to shine the nubs on his head. He then knelt down and took each one of his hooves and shined them with the shirt. The only thank you Akihito could get across was a light lick across the prince's cheek.

"Don't mention it." Asami said. "Now that you're all clean, you can have your treats." He dug into his pocket and took out the apple and a couple of sugar cubes. He cut the apple in half with a pocket knife and gave one of the halves to the goat.

Akihito's taste buds were set on overdrive at tasting the new fruit. He had never tasted an apple before, but he knew of them. The fruit tasted a little sweet with a bit of tartness. After finishing the apple piece, he looked up to see Asami hold out his hand with the sugar cubes. He looked at both of the sugar cubes then daintily stuck his tongue out and one of the cubes instantly attached. The sugar cube dissolved almost immediately in his mouth and was the sweetest thing he has ever tasted. It was almost too sweet to the point of making his jaw hurt. After finishing it, he looked back at the hand that had the other sugar cube in it. He noticed that Asami didn't eat it.

With a bleat, he nudged the hand away with his head towards Asami for him to enjoy.

"No, no. That one is for you too. It's too sweet for me." Asami said.

Akihito tried to resemble a pouting face.

"Okay, I'll save this one for later." The prince said while pocketing the treat. "Now, would you like to hear the rest of the jejune story?"

The now clean goat bleated happily and jumped up and down.

"Alright."

With the prince's clothes laying in a heap next to the well, the shirtless prince and the giddy goat made there way under a nice shaded area under a tree. Asami sat down first and extended his legs. Akihito sat next to him and felt the prince put his arm around him.

"Alright, where was I?" Asami made a knowing look.

Akihito bleated the best he could about the jejunes taking the power of other creatures.

"Ahh, that's right." The prince nodded. "So, the jejunes couldn't change themselves like the shapeshifters. After a while of the jejunes trying to hunt down the immortals and the magical entities, they decided to experiment with just regular ordinaries. I'm talking about your regular horse, forest deer, bears, birds, even fish. This one jejune figured out how to take on an ordinarie's form. His name was Liu Fe Long. What he did was a something that would change the world forever." Asami looked down at the goat who was looking up at him with expectant blue eyes.

Akihito was really enjoying the story. He was also enjoying how Asami had him pressed up against his bare skin on the side of his body. He waited for the storyteller to continue.

"Liu Fe Long was one of the first documented pure blood jejunes that was able to change himself into an ordinary. But, he wasn't entirely successful. Do you know what the first ordinary he was able to change himself into?" He asked the goat.

Akihito bleated that he had no idea, maybe a mighty dragon.

"Liu Fe Long changed himself into a goat."

The shocked look on Akihito's face caused the prince to laugh. "You know Akihito, if it wasn't apparent that you're an ordinary, someone could mistake you for being a mortal."

The blonde goat made a huffing sound.

"Back to the story. So, not to scare you little goat, but the way he was able to do this was by wearing the hide of a goat." Asami looked down at the goat in his arms with concern.

Akihito wasn't too phased by the story. He was used to his mother telling him the dangers and the death that lurked around the corners.

"After that day, he would be regarded as a skin walker. Part jejune, part ordinary, part monster. The thing is to his new found power, it doesn't last for very long and the ordinary that the skin walker wishes to become has to be sacrificed in order to live as that ordinary. What started happening was the other jejunes were seeing how Fe Long was doing this and started killing ordinaries in masses. The forest became littered with skinned bodies of bears, deer, forest lions, foxes, even squirrels. The lakes and ponds had floating skinned fish. Farms had the corpses of horses, cows, even chickens. The jejunes were getting out of hand."

Akihito started to shake at the history of the jejune. He felt Asami's arm tighten around him and felt instantly better.

"One day, a few dragons, unicorns, nymphs and will o' the wisps gathered on the high mountains and looked over the land and saw it bathed in blood and at the strange beast like creatures that were forming. The group of immortals came to the conclusion that this was just a phase in the life cycle and it would pass. Again, they were afraid of stepping in because they didn't want to disrupt the natural flow of magic that ran through the world.

"Back in the forest, one jejune, who's name was Chimera, wanted to make a beast so powerful that it could take on the immortals. So, he skinned a lion for its ferocity and strength. He skinned a snake for its venomous bite. Also, he skinned a goat in honor of the first skin walking experience. What he created, was a monster. As Chimera stitched together the animal skins and put it on, he almost immediately lost his mind to his own greed and corruption within. A goat head with powerful horns grew from his back, a snake grew as the tail, and the lion at the forefront. His mind split into three as his insanity of having three creatures mashed together in one hideous body overtook him. These mortals came to be known as chimeras. Similarly, another jejune, whose name was Manticore, also wanted to make a beast to take on the immortals. So, in his case, he also took a lion, a porcupine, and a bat and melded their hides together. Just like before, his mind was split and lost to the insanity of the monster. These creatures could not shed their hide because they lost the thought to, thus they lived the rest of their lives as their monster." The prince looked down at his little goat who was visibly shaken. He snuggled the blonde goat closer to his side. "We'll stop here for today, I believe I'm running late for my tutoring session."

Akihito looked up at the chiseled face of his friend and was sad that he had to go. He let out a bleat to try to convince him to stay and finish his story, even if it was a little scary.

The topless Asami looked down at the blue eyed goat and reached into his pocket to give him the other sugar cube. "Here, something sweet for someone sweet."

Akihito couldn't help his mouth drop at this mortal referring to him as "someone'. He graciously took the cube of sweetness and followed him back to the ordinarie's pens.

The two meandered back to the ordinary pens and stopped by the little pond that they met at last night.

The pond that denied Akihito a different image of himself the first time he tried. Asami paused the walk to allow the goat some time to drink the fresh water before heading back.

The goat looked into the pond and noticed with a start that his previously floppy ears were shortened a bit and becoming more rigid. He also noticed that his muzzle and face was a little more receded into his head. These were little changed that he wouldn't notice if he didn't spend so much time looking at himself. But, he noticed them.

Upon arrival at the pens, Asami picked the little blonde goat up and put him over the fence. He then knelt down and reached his hand through the slat. Akihito placed his head in the inviting hand and rested for a little bit before the prince had to go to his session.

"Alright, Akihito. I have to go now. I enjoyed our little story session together. I'll see you later."

Akihito watched in sadness as his friend picked up his now soiled clothes and walked back to the castle.

Akihito hopped on his back legs and hooked his front legs over the bottom wood log of the fence and poked his head out through the slat. He moved his mouth, yet again, to try to form words. Instead, he blew a raspberry which earned a laugh from the prince as he walked away. 

The little goat looked over at the hooves he had hooked over the fence. He wished that he could feel his hooves when Asami held them in his hand. He wished that he could return the hugs that he was given and above all, he wished that he could say how he felt when he was around.

With those longing thoughts in his head, the little blonde goat hopped down from the fence and took up a place on a pile of hay. For the rest of the day, he thought about the future and what magic it will bring.


End file.
